Operation equipment mounted on a vehicle is suitably used for a vehicle navigation system. The vehicle navigation system displays a map of geography around the vehicle, calculates a route from a present position of the vehicle to a destination, and guides in accordance with the route. The navigation system includes a display having a touch switch for operating various operations such as a setting of the destination, a starting operation of guidance, a scrolling operation of the map, and a changing operation of a scale of the map.
The navigation system is disposed in an instrument panel between a driver seat and a passenger seat so that both of a driver and a passenger can operate the navigation system easily and view the display of the navigation system easily. Further, while the vehicle is moving, the passenger or the driver cannot operate the touch switch except for a certain switch because of a safety. Here, the certain switch provides minimum operations in the navigation system, for example, the changing operation of the scale of the map and the like.
The driver is required to concentrate on driving the vehicle. Therefore, it is preferred that the driver cannot operate any switch in the navigation system. However, the navigation system according to a prior art uniformly prohibits both of the driver and the passenger from operating the touch switch. Therefore, the passenger, who does not drive the vehicle, cannot operate the switch.
In view of the above problem, a vehicle navigation system is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-292261. This navigation system includes a sensor having a generator and a receiver. The generator generates and emits a supersonic wave, and the receiver receives the supersonic wave. The generator and the receiver are disposed on a driver's side of a front panel in a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The front panel includes a display of the navigation system. While the vehicle is moving, the generator emits the supersonic wave. Then, the receiver receives a reflection of the supersonic wave. When a hand or an arm of the driver crosses the supersonic wave emitted from the generator, the receiver receives the reflection of the supersonic wave reflected by the hand or the arm of the driver, so that the sensor detects the driver's hand or arm. Then, the navigation system prohibits some predetermined operations, which are operated with a touch switch of a display or a panel switch disposed around the display. On the other hand, when the touch switch or the panel switch is operated without detecting the driver's hand or arm, the navigation system determines the switch is operated by the passenger, so that the navigation system allows all operations, which are operated with the touch switch and the panel switch.
However, an outside sensor such as the generator and the receiver is necessitated in the navigation system to detect the driver's hand or arm. Therefore, a manufacturing cost of the navigation system is increased. Further, the dimensions of the navigation system become large, since the outside sensor is required to be disposed on the front panel separately.